October 2, 2012 > Bikeway design restrictions relaxed Bikeway design restrictions relaxed Submitted By Jeff Barbosa The Governor signed AB 819, a bill supported by a number of cycling organizations across the state, as well as the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. "The bill will lead to more creative bikeway designs across the state," said bill sponsor Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski. Before, local agencies had to meet the restrictions of the California Highway Design Manual. "There are many in the biking community who believe there is so much more we can be doing to promote safe bicycling." AB 819 amends the Streets and Highways Code to direct Caltrans to establish a procedure for experimentation with bikeway design for the Highway Design Manual. Local agencies will be permitted to request approval to use non-standard planning, design and construction features for purposes of research, experimentation and verification.